Monday, April 16, 2012

Coachella 2012 - Virtual Tupac

I did not go to Coachella this last weekend. If I had the cash, I would've been there in a heartbeat. So, sitting at my PC and watching my Facebook news stream, a link popped up to watch Dre and Snoop Dog live on YouTube. I've always wanted to see Dre & Snoop live; their music was my gateway into Hip Hop, Rap, and R&B. I'm watching the video feed...then all of a sudden a Virtual Tupac shows up.

Now I'm leaning towards creepy and absurd. It might be cool as a novelty, but you're not going to get very far beating a dead horse, especially when the arts need a new influx of talent to keep relevant with the times. The thought of resurrecting dead artists irks me not only for the fact that, hey, they're dead, but that this likeness of them is flopping around on stage and it isn't actually them. And the money generated for using said likenesses seems a bit like an unhanded ploy for the record companies or artist estates to make more money. Might as well use the technology to create some badass visuals instead of trying to revive the past. And come to think of it, the artist doesn't even have to be dead. I could sit here in my bedroom and have my likeness perform in India and Brazil at the same time. 


And is there enough room for new bands to compete with the old if this does in fact become a harbinger of tours to come? Based upon popularity I would have to guess that The Beatles and Michael Jackson might be pretty big draws. And Nirvana. Jerry Garcia. You get the idea.


And I hope it's just a fad. If I had to, I'd go sit in a movie theater to watch holograms, but a 'live' performance? Please. That was really awkward to watch last night - felt like I was spying on an MMORPG from a distance, except it starred a dead rapper and I didn't have to pay $300+ to get in. But, on the other hand, it was only a small portion of the overall performance (on the last night of the third day - hundreds of other bands of which I did not watch). Dre and Snoop performances were awesome though, and Eminem definitely needs to tour again.




Virtual Tupac Might Go On Tour, Would You Pay To Go See Him?



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